Nari Uzumaki: Jinchuriki of the Jackal
by Pokepika's Haunt
Summary: Warning: Fem!Naruto, rated T for safety, pairings undecided as of yet, more inside-
1. Chapter 1

A/N. Sorry I've been gone so long, I had to, once again, take an impromptu break from fanfiction. Again, very sorry for not updating anything in a while, and this is probably not helping my case any seeing as the fact you guys probably want me to update my stories with new chapters not start yet another fanfic, but I've always wanted to do a Naruto fanfiction, and until now, all my attempts failed so I gave up. After a sudden urge hit me, I decided to try again. I hope you all enjoy this, oh and before we get on to the summary, I'll be replacing Kurama/Kyuubi with another animal and demon of my choosing.

Summary: Long ago a fearsome, nightmarish beast attacked the hidden village in the leaves, taking many lives with it until it was stopped by the Hokage, the village champion. 11 ½ years later young Nari Uzumaki is about to graduate from the academy when her small world is turned upside down, made even more complicated when secrets best left hidden in the eyes of some are dragged into the open. One of which an ancient bloodline believed to have been lost with the destruction of an entire village during a war long gone by. What fate awaits the last of the Uzumaki Clan as she faces a world where only the strong and strong-willed seem to survive?

**Warning: Fem!Naruto Fanfic, also this is a slight crossover between Pokémon and Naruto, and by slight, I mean the only thing that could make this even close to being considered a crossover is the fact that Naruto, or Nari as he or rather she is called in this fanfic, can sense and use Aura like the Pokémon Lucario. That is it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and I never will in my life time. And my chances of owning Pokémon is about as existent as me waking up one day in the world of my all-time favorite shows and videogames. In short, never gonna happen in a million years. A girl can dream though can't she?**

* * *

Prologue: Sacrifice and Death- Birth of a Jinchuriki!

_There was fire everywhere as trash and debris littered the ground, making it even more dangerous than it already was to walk across what could very well pass as a war zone…_

"It's getting closer!"

_The monster, a beast of pure golden and saphire energy known as chakra, growled and roared fiercely, it's rage quite clear on its face as its nine great tails lashed about, expression twisted to near insanity…_

"Hang on! Just a little bit longer!"

_The corpses of many littered the grounds, dyed red with the blood of the many fallen soldiers and civilians who had met such an unfortunate end…_

"Where's the Hokage?"

_In a cloud of grey and white, a powerful summons, a toad of epic proportions, appeared, a man with striking blonde hair standing proudly atop its head…_

"It's the Hokage! We're saved!"

_In the man's arms, he carried with gentlest of care, an infant baby, just born and already experience the violence that so plagues this world…_

"Sorry to call you up for this Gamabunta-san, but I need your help with what I'm about to do."

_The great toad seemed to gaze forlornly at the giant beast, _

"They always said that one of these days you'd lose your mind Kyuubi…"

_The infant gave a single harsh cry, a flash of light, and all was over, the great beast defeated by a single man and a jutsu so powerful it required a sacrifice of life…_

"It was nice knowing you Minato Namikaze..."

_The man falls from the sky, landing as gently as he now gradually weakening body will allow. The infant still held as gently as possible in the man's arms…_

"I'm so sorry it had to be this way…. Could you ever find it in yourself to forgive for leaving you like this, and after placing such a heavy burden on you?"

_The man collapses, dying thanks to the sacrifice he has made for the village he was supposed to, and succeeded in, protecting…_

"Heh, you look so much like your mother… I pray that the villagers treat you well, good bye, and good luck little one…"

_Nari…_

* * *

A/N. I hope you guys liked it. Just a little prologue to help me get back into the swing of things. Again, I'm sorry for not updating in a while. Anyways, please review and tell me what you think, though this probably isn't a whole lot to review about yet. Anyways, see ya!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N. Thanks so much for the reviews everyone, here's the next chapter, but first review replies!

To PokemonKnight: Thanks and glad you liked it, here's the next chapter!

To Ferdawg: Thanks for reviewing the story and sorry about that. I was hoping to come up with a good first chapter but only wound up coming up with a decent prologue. The real stuff starts here and at least you didn't yell at me for the prologue. Anyways, thanks again for reviewing, here's the next chapter please enjoy.

To weirn018: Thanks and enjoy!

To TheBlackSeaReaper: Thanks and any one you want me to update in particular? I can see what I'll do, I'm currently trying to update Skull Hat Pirates, but it's coming along very slowly. Anyways enjoy!

To IndigoButterfly: Hi, thanks for welcoming me back, and thanks for the review. Glad you found time to at least read this one. Anyways, please enjoy this next chapter!

Oh yeah, Nari likes ramen just like canon!Naruto does, but she's got a broader appetite and doesn't just eat ramen non-stop thanks to the Akimichi clan intervening in her diet. So sometimes she eats at their place.

**Disclaimer: I do now own Naruto!**

* * *

**Episode 1: To become a Ninja! –Enter Nari Uzumaki**

* * *

"Hokage-sama!" Sarutobi Hiruzen, an old war veteran and the current Hokage of Konoha, sighed as he paused to turn and face his two visitors, though he could already guess about what had brought them into his office,

"Yes, yes, what is it now?" he asked in an exasperated tone, "Another prank by Nari I assume?" one of the men, a chunin, nodded his head in response,

"Yes! The little she-devil's gone and graffiti all over the mountain side faces again, and this time in paint!" the chunin answered, gesturing to the mountains that could be seen outside the window. The old man heaved a sigh as he stood up, adjusting the white robes he wore and making sure to grab his hat before following the chunin and his friend to the place of distress. _'I'm getting too old for this…'_

* * *

_Outside…_

"Hehehehe!" a young girl wearing a laughed excitedly as she looked down to the assembled audience below her, comprised of the ninja from her village, her sapphire blue eyes shining with a mischievous gleam. A broad grin plastered across her face, proud of the attention she had attracted. It only grew in size as she caught wind of the insults and threats, the cries of outrage and disapproval that came from the still growing crowd down below.

"Get down from there you little idiot!"

"You are so in for it when they catch you!"

"Enough with the stupid pranks! Everybody's sick and tired of them!"

"Yeah! Grow up!"

The young girl only laughed louder at them, taking the time to turn and face her audience as she brushed the stray strands of golden blonde and red streaked hair from her face, tucking them as best she could behind her ear,

"Suckers! None of you have the guts to do something like this! BAKAS!" her response resulted in the increased volume in the threats. She scoffed at them, taking a kunai from a pouch tied around her left thigh and twirling it around her fingers a couple of times before taking a good strong hold of it. She then used it to slice through the thick rope tied securely around her waist, allowing herself to drop from her position, which had been her basically dangling in front of the four faces carved into the side of the mountain, depicting the four village leaders both past and present, by the rope as she painted portraits. She hit the ground feet first, landing quite gracefully as she paused to throw a smirk at the large group of people above her.

"Try and catch me you slowpokes!" she goaded the assembled shinobi before taking off to the roofs in the usual chase. Some of the assembled shinobi grew tic marks on their foreheads, expressions ones of pure agitation as they all called out in unison, voices drowned in exasperation and frustration,

"NARI UZUMAKI! GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE!"

* * *

_Sometime later…_

Nari laughed as she dropped her disguise, a piece of cloth designed to look like the wooden fence behind her. Allowing the cloth to pool around her feet, she gave a mischievous grin as she observed the fading figures of the three shinobi that had run past her just a few seconds earlier.

"Ha, bunch of bakas!" she said proudly as she turned to walk off into the opposite direction, "They'll never catch me now..." she stopped mid-sentence, gulping in fear and nervousness as a forest green vest appeared in line of sight.

"Oh really Nari?" the voice of the person who currently stood in her way said, voice dripping with sarcasm and slight disapproval. Nari slowly looked up, eyes wide as she took in the sight of one Umino Iruka, a chunin level shinobi and her teacher at the ninja academy.

"Oh crap…" was all she got out before she found her arms pinned to her side by a semi-thick rope, the other end being held securely in the hands of her teacher. Sighing in defeat she allowed herself to be dragged back to class, albeit reluctantly.

* * *

_**(A/N. I'm skipping the whole academy scene because I decided to leave it the same as in the manga/anime, except that Nari will do a regular transformation instead of the Ninja Centerfold/Sexy Jutsu. Sorry but honestly I don't feel like writing the whole scene out.)**_

* * *

Nari sighed as she dumped the already dirty rag into the water-filled bucket at her feet, stretching out her aching back before reaching down to pick it up again and continue with the grueling punishment that came with her urge to suddenly practice her drawing skills on the Hokage monument. Above her, Iruka-sensei sat on top of the head she was working on, making sure that she didn't just run off again and cause more trouble somewhere else. She was grumbling some under her breathe when Iruka-sensei's voice cut through her thoughts,

"You're not going home until this whole mess is cleaned up Nari!" Nari growled slightly before responding,

"SO? It's not like anybody's there waiting for me anyways…" she said, going back to her cleaning as she silently tried to hold back some tears,

"Hey, Nari?" Iruka suddenly called, grabbing hold of her attention again, "Um…If you can finish up in time…I'll take you to get something to eat after this…" Nari's face broke into a wide grin at the prospect of free food. She grinned wide before picking up her pace.

"Yeah! Now that's some inspiration!"

* * *

_At Akimichi Dinners…_

"Here you go Nari, Iruka!" the wife of the Akimichi clan head said cheerfully as she placed the food that they had ordered in front of them.

"Thank you Akimichi-san!" Nari said politely as she began to eat, a wide and happy smile placed on her face.

"You're welcome Nari dear." The large woman said before she walked off towards the kitchen, leaving the teacher-student pair to themselves. They sat silently, too busy eating, until finally Iruka broke it, a question having been eating away at his mind for some time now,

"Hey Nari?" Nari looked up from her meal, showing that once again, Iruka had her full attention, she made a noise for him to continue, mouth too full to safely talk without worrying about making a mess, "Why, of all places, did you decide to paint the Hokage Monument? I mean, don't you know what they mean, how significant they are?" Nari slowly nodded as she swallowed another mouthful before giving a more direct response,

"Yes, I know."

"Then why?"

"The Hokage is the leader of the village, revered and respected for his strength, will, wisdom, and overall skills. He is literally the strongest ninja in the village. He is not just a figurehead to show off, he is literally the protector of the village should some unforeseen disaster hit us, such as a demon attack or war with another village. And the Yondaime, the fourth Hokage, was the best of them all. He saved the village from the nine-tailed jackal."

"Ok, so why?"

"Because I'm going to prove that the villagers are wrong about me! I'm gonna show them that I'm not a failure." She said, pausing before continuing in her explanation, "That I'm not useless…" her teacher blinked a bit in surprise, staring at his student in shock as she continued eating. Finally, he heaved a sigh of defeat. He gave a sort of grim smile as he thought over his student's situation. Nari was hated, no despised by almost everyone in the village except for a couple of kindhearted and forgiving souls. They had dubbed her a failure, a useless thing that they wished would disappear soon, but she wouldn't. And those were just the more nicer things they had said about her, not including the more extreme times where they called her a demon or she-devil, the latter she wore like a badge of honor really, so it was a failed insult in the end.

"I see…" he said quietly before returning to his meal as well, "Nari, what are your dreams?" Iruka asked aloud, not really sure if he meant to or not though,

"Well I have dreams when I go to sleep, I sometimes daydream, you're gonna have to be more specific Iruka-sensei." Iruka gave a dry chuckle, there it was again. The happily vague answers that reminded Iruka alll too much of the famously lazy and chronically late jonin known as Kakashi.

"Nari, I mean dreams of the future, what do you want to be when you get older. I mean I know you signed up for the ninja academy to get stronger, so people wouldn't see you as a failure anymore, but that can't just be all there is to it. There has to be more, what else is there?"

"I don't really have a dream Iruka-sensei, at least I don't know yet what I want to be when I get older. I just want the power to protect what is closest to me. That's not so bad an idea is it?" Nari asked, an expression of utter innocence clear on her face as she smiled gently.

"No it isn't, just don't go letting all that power go to your head once you get it. Too much power can be poisonous Nari, remember that."

"Don't worry Iruka-sense, I won't forget. Promise." She told the man, before a slightly mischievous glint made its way into her eyes, "Besides, I'm not the almighty Sasuke Uchiha with an army of fangirls at his beck and call. I'm not perfect in every single way." She mocked, dissolving into a slight fit of giggles.

"Nari, that's not nice to say about your classmate. You two might wind up on a team when you graduate. You need to be nicer to him."

"Hai hai, Iruka-sensei."

"Good now, let's go." Iruka said as he paid for the bill and left. They had a big day tomorrow after all, the graduation exams was tomorrow and Iruka wasn't about to let one of his prized students fail because she hadn't had a good night's sleep.

Once outside, they split up, Nari going one way and Iruka going the other.

"Bye Iruka-sensei, thanks for the meal!" Iruka chuckled as he watched the young girl disappear into the night.

* * *

_The next day…_

"Ok class, today we'll be taking the final graduation exam to determine whether or not you're ready to be ninja. Now when I call your name, I want you to come into the other room, and we'll begin the exam, understand?" Iruka explained as he gave out the instructions.

"HAI!"

"Good. Now let's begin, Sakura Haruno…"

_Sometime later…_

Nari finally found herself in the testing room, a bit nervous seeing as the fact that they were testing her on what had to be her worst jutsu ever; the clone jutsu.

"Ok Nari, all you have to do is summon two clones, that's it." Iruka gave a gentle smile, his partner, Mizuki also giving the same smile if coming off a bit on the fake side.

"Hai!" she said as she formed the necessary signs for the jutsu. She silently prayed as she put what she deemed to be enough chakra into the jutsu and looked up when she heard the poof signifying that she had summoned something. Nari turned to look to her side in hope, only for her expression to fall into despair, she had once again failed the exam, and she knew she'd be getting her hopes up if she tried to convince Iruka sensei to let her pass with something like that. It'd take a miracle at best. Without listening to the two teachers talking, she left silently, disappearing to somewhere in the outside air. She didn't want to hear everybody's comments on the fact that she had failed yet again, and how she had somehow deserved it too.

Back with the teachers though, Mizuki sat in his seat, a plan forming in his head as he slowly allowed a malicious smirk to make its home on his face. He had finally figured out how to get what he wanted, all he had to do was convince the young Jinchuriki to get it for him. And after this recent failure, it'd be like taking candy from a baby.

* * *

Next time:

"_Iruka! Nari somehow found out and stole the forbidden scroll!"_

"_No! Don't tell her!"_

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!"_

"_Nari!"_

"_I can see…Everything…" _

* * *

A/N. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading. Please review and see ya!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N. Here's the third chapter of Nari Uzumaki: Jinchuriki of the Jackal. But before we get started, review replies! Oh, and while typing this I noticed that the Nari portrayed in this chapter, and the one portrayed in the previous chapter conflicted a lot in personality, or at least in my mind they did, so I did some re-editing to the previous chapter. Anyways, onward and tallyho! I can't believe I actually spelled that right…

To weirn018: Thanks for the review and enjoy!

To IndigoButterfly: Glad you liked it, and I don't mean to patronize, but it's not good to run away from these types of things. And I understand how you feel about the Ace thing, though I can't fathom why you would feel pain about the first chapters of Naruto, I'm not you so I can't help. Anyways, I hope you feel better about it soon, and thanks for the review! Please enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto at all, if I did, Naruto would be a girl.**

* * *

**Episode 2: Stolen! The Scroll of Seals- Awakening of Aura**

* * *

Nari sat on the old swing set in the academy courtyard, away from the crowd of graduating students and their families. Being in there would make her feel even more alone then before, she wanted to avoid that, if at all possible. In the distance, she faintly took note of the Hokage standing there next to Iruka-sensei. They were talking about something, but she wasn't a lip-reader. She had no idea what in this world or the next they were saying. She sighed as she overheard some of two women talking about her and the fact that she failed, how it was better that she had, she blocked out the rest, but she could still feel their glaring eyes burning holes into her skin. She looked up, preparing to leave, only to see her other teacher, Mizuki-sensei's face.

"Oh, hey Mizuki-sensei…"

"Hello Nari, mind coming with me? I want to talk to you about something."

"…?"

* * *

_That night…_

"Nari? What in the world are you doing here?"

Nari froze as she turned to face the third Hokage.

"Crap…Sorry about this Jii-chan." The Hokage's expression was one of confusion.

"What are you talking about-" he didn't get to finish as everything suddenly went black.

* * *

_With Iruka…_

Iruka lay in bed, still for the most part clothed, only missing his shoes and his chunin vest. His eyes were distant, his mind going back to that night eleven and a half years ago, when he had lost his family, when the Kyuubi, the nine-tailed jackal attacked.

* * *

_RAAAHHH! The great beast with its nine thrashing tails roared, seeming to shake the very world itself as it rent the surrounding landscape into shreds. A young Umino Iruka screamed and hollered in defiance as a ninja, right arm tightly wrapped around his body, carried him away from the scene of the battle._

"_Let me go! My parents are still fighting! Mother! Father!"_

* * *

_Knock Knock Knock_

Iruka was dragged from his memories at the sharp sound of somebody knocking on his front door repeatedly. _'Huh? Who could that be at this time of night?' _Iruka thought in wonderment as he got up from the bed and walked to the door. He opened it, eyes widening in slight surprise at the sight of a panicking Mizuki.

"Mizuki what?-"

"It's Nari! She somehow found out and stole the Forbidden Scroll of Seals!" Iruka's eyes widened in stunned surprise. What in the world was his young student thinking?

* * *

_At the Hokage Tower…_

The shinobi of the village were gathered together, all panicked and plotting on how to handle the situation as they waited for the Hokage to give them their orders. Nari Uzumaki, the village pariah and Jinchuriki to the nine-tailed demon that had attacked and nearly demolished their village eleven years ago, had stolen the Forbidden Scroll, this did not bode well for them.

"Hokage-sama!" one of the ninja called alerting them to the arrival of their esteemed leader,

"The scroll that Nari Uzumaki stole was so powerful, and so dangerous that the first Hokage himself sealed it away!" he informed them in a foreboding tone, trying to get across just how serious this situation could get if that scroll left Land of Fire territory. "Go and find her, and bring both her and the scroll back _alive_ and in one piece!" he ordered sharply, putting special emphasis on the word 'alive'.

"**HAI!**" They all responded in unison, disappearing in a large cloud of smoke.

* * *

_With Mizuki…_

Mizuki leapt from roof to roof, a malicious and evil smirk prominent on his face as he headed toward the direction where he knew for a fact Nari would be. _'Heh, with the whole village knowing that she stole the scroll, all I have to do is kill the little demon, and then take off with the scroll. Hide the body, and they'll think she killed me and left with it. It's the perfect plan!' _the chunin thought as he sped up.

* * *

_With Iruka…_

Iruka was frantic. What in the seven layers of Hell was Nari thinking, stealing the Forbidden Scroll like that? Better yet, how in the world had she found out about it. The Scroll of Sealings was a closely guarded secret, only chunin-level or higher knew about it, somebody must have told her about it. But if that was the case, then who would want to, and what would they gain by having her of all people take it? Bah! He'd figure all this out later, after he found Nari, first he needed to find the child. _'I'll check the forest first…'_

* * *

_In a clearing in the forest…_

Nari lay on the ground, panting in exhaustion as she tried to regain her breathe again. She'd managed to learn two jutsus from that blasted scroll, and it hadn't been easy, luckily, it seemed that she was a fast-learner, to some degree at least.

Feeling she had taken enough of a break for now, Nari sat up again, groaning in pain as she held her head slightly. For a while now, her head had been hurting, specifically around the area of the eyes. It was a vicious headache that just wouldn't go away, and if she didn't know any better, she could swear that her vision was getting worse by the second. Something was off...

"There you are!" Nari jolted as she turned abruptly to face the speaker. She had to squint a bit to see better, but her eyes widened in seconds as she realized that it was her teacher Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei! You came!"

"Of course I did you idiot!" he scolded her, causing her to fall silent. He was about to continue on when he noticed the condition that she was in. Nari looked like somebody had just fed her through a meat grinder. What in the world had she been doing?

"Hey Nari, where did you get that scroll from?" he asked, motioning toward said object, which had been tied securely around her waist.

"Oh Iruka-sensei! Some of the jutsus in this scroll are so amazing!"

"Wait Nari, you mean to tell me you were practicing jutsu this whole entire time?" Nari nodded her head vehemently in answer,

"Yeah, I only managed to learn two though; you got here before I could figure out any more of them." She told him, sounding slightly disappointed, but perking up immediately afterwards as she continued on, "Oh, but once you see perform one of these jutsu you'll have to let me pass, right?" she said, her voice dripping with hope. Iruka's eyes widened however, what in the world was she talking about?

"Hold it Nari, who told you that you could pass if you could perform one of the jutsu in the scroll?"

"It was Mizuki-sensei, why?" she asked, not sure what was going on. Mizuki had told her that he would tell Iruka she had agreed to take the make-up test, and meet her in the forest with Mizuki.

"Mizuki?" Nari nodded,

"Yeah. Iruka-sensei, what is going on?" Iruka did say anything, but Nari suddenly found herself being shoved to the side as a horde of kunai and shuriken were thrown at them, Iruka taking the majority if not all the hits for her.

"What the hell is going on?" Nari asked in surprise and confusion, they had just been attacked, but by who and why? Poor Iruka-sensei was bleeding!

"Mizuki!" Nari perked up as she turned to the tree branch that Iruka-sensei was glaring at.

"Why if it isn't my old friend Iruka? I didn't expect you to make it here so quickly and before me no less, but oh well."

"Nari, listen to me! Run away now, go back to the village and get help! Don't let Mizuki get ahold of the scroll!"

"Oh come now Iruka, you're not about to get in my way are you?"

"Shut up you traitor!"

"Now now, that's no way to treat a friend Iruka… Nari, tell me, do you want to know why exactly everybody in the village has treated you so horribly?"

"Mizuki! NO! You know that it's forbidden!"

"W-what are you talking about? You know why?"

"Of course everybody knows why! But of course you wouldn't, because you weren't supposed to ever know."

"Mizuki stop!"

"Why?"

"It's because eleven and a half years ago, when the Kyuubi no Jakkaru, the nine-tailed jackal attacked, it wasn't killed, it was sealed away. Inside of you! You are the nine-tailed jackal that attacked the village! That is why everybody hates you! Even Iruka, whose parents you brutally killed!"

"No…"

"The Yondaime Hokage sealed you into this weak pathetic form! That scroll you stole, was the instrument used in your sealing."

"Mizuki SHUT UP!"

"Nari…Come with me, on your own you won't be able to understand anything about it… But if you come with me, I'll be able to teach you the meanings behind what is written inside that scroll…" Mizuki grabbed hold of one of the giant shuriken strapped to his back. "And if not, don't worry, I'll put you out of your misery myself!" he gave a malicious smirk as he threw it at Nari, fully intent on killing her.

"No…" Nari flinched, eyes shutting tight as she waited for the inevitable pain that would come when the shuriken hit her. The sound of metal piercing flesh reached her ears, but there was no pain. _'What the-' _She looked up, and even with her increasingly poor vision, she could still at least somewhat clearly see Iruka hovering above her, blood dripping from his mouth. Her eyes widened in shock,

"Why?" hadn't she killed his parents, why had he protected her?

"After my parents died, I started making a fool of myself, I just wanted people to notice me, I wanted somebody to acknowledge me, even if it was just mocking laughter. It was so, so lonely still. Nari, you must have been lonely too, maybe if I'd been nicer to you, maybe if I'd been a better teacher, things wouldn't have turned out like this." Nari tried her best to hold in the tears as she got up and quickly ran out of the clearing away from both Iruka and Mizuki. She wasn't sure how far she could get, she could barely see anything now, but she'd try at the very least.

"Nari!" Iruka called out in concern, forced to watch as the young girl ran away.

"You saw those eyes didn't you? She's got the same eyes as me. That scroll can give her power, power that the beast inside her hungers for. She's going to take the scroll and use it to get her revenge on the village that scorned her." Iruka growled as he violently yanked the giant shuriken from his back, attempting to finish Mizuki off here and now, he threw it, only for it to miss. "Pathetic. I just need to finish off the demon and then I'll be hailed as a hero in the village, I can just take the scroll and nobody would be the wiser until it was too late… Heh… Now why don't you just sit there like a good little doggy and wait for me to come back and kill you." He said as he disappeared. Iruka gasped in pain before solidifying his resolve. He wouldn't let Mizuki get ahold of the scroll, and he definitely wouldn't let that crazed man harm a single hair on his student's head. He'd stop him before he could.

* * *

_Later…_

Iruka's eyes widened as he spotted the leaping form of Nari up ahead, the scroll still tightly bound to her waist.

"Nari! Hurry give me the scroll!" the chunin called as he caught up to her, "It's what Mizuki is after!" Nari was silent until she jumped up ahead a bit, before doing an abrupt turn and tackling him from the trees They both hit the ground hard, Nari landing up against a tree.

"Nari, what's the matter? How-" he asked, his voice dripping with disbelief, "How did you know that I wasn't Iruka?" the man's body was covered in smoke as the illusion wore off, revealing none other than Mizuki, faced contorted in disbelief and rage. Nari gave a dry chuckle before she too was covered in a thick cloud of smoke,

"Because I am Iruka." The real Iruka said, leaning against the tree, his face twisted in pain from the injury on his back. Mizuki growled as he took off the other giant shuriken on his back.

"Why you little pest. You should've just stayed where you were! I had planned to save you for last, but things don't always go as planned now do they?" Mizuki growled, "Why, why are you even protecting that monster? Didn't she kill your parents! Don't you hate her!" Mizuki yelled out, a dry, pained chuckle being Iruka's first response to the question.

"Yes, yes Mizuki, I may hate the demon. But not the girl, not Nari. She's strong, gentle, kind. She's tries her hardest to be the best she can be, and though she's a bit on the clumsy side, she's one of the strongest people I know. The villagers' ostracizing has done nothing but give her empathy to others. She's not your demon Mizuki, she's Uzumaki Nari, proud kunoichi of the Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves!" Mizuki sneered, seeming to be quite sickened with Iruka's response.

"Ha, that was so sweet it almost made me cry! Why don't you take those mushy feelings of yours and bring them to the afterlife with you!" Mizuki hollered as he threw the shuriken at Iruka. Iruka sighed, resigning himself to his fate, at least Nari was safe for now, and hopefully back in the village with the scroll. His eyes widened when he heard the sound of the shuriken being deflected by something.

"Don't-" the cloud of smoke that had suddenly appeared between the two chunin cleared to show the real Nari, the Forbidden Scroll in hand, "Don't you dare to hurt my sensei!" she threatened, expression promising a world of yet to be told or experienced pain.

"Or what?" Mizuki said, not at all intimidated by what he deemed to be a weak enemy.

"Or else I'll kill you!" she said as she leapt at the man. Nari tried to punch the man but he deflected it, tossing her back towards Iruka.

"Stupid brat! Big words for a powerless demon! You're nothing more than a child, weak and helpless!" Nari growled, slowly standing up she leapt at the man again, fully intent to follow through with her threat. She was fighting pretty well, but she had a major disadvantage at the moment that left her quite vulnerable to any attacks that Mizuki threw at her. What neither man knew, which was probably a good thing, was that she couldn't see any more, at all really. Her vision was gone and the world was now nothing more the black inkiness to her. She was blind, and she wasn't sure as to how or why it had happened.

She was shaken from her thoughts as Mizuki hit her in the side particularly hard, sending her flying. She landed with a sickening thud at Iruka's feet.

"Nari! Nari, you little fool, just hurry up and take the scroll! Leave me here, I'll be fine! Just save yourself!" Iruka ordered in a panic. Nari's only response was a dry chuckle though,

"Sorry Iruka-sensei, but I don't think it matters very much right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Iruka-sensei, I'm afraid to admit this, but since it probably doesn't matter either which way, I can't see at all. I've suddenly gone completely and totally blind."

"What?" Mizuki cut through their conversation, having heard everything the young Jinchuriki had said,

"Ha! So the demon can't see squat huh? Well you were right about one thing, it doesn't matter whether or not you can see. Because you're both dead! You both die here and now!" Mizuki yelled out as he took a kunai out and prepared to stab Nari with it. It never made it though. Everything seemed to go in slow-motion as the kunai descended only for Nari, sapphire eyes dull and unseeing, suddenly grabbed hold of the kunai stopping its decent. "What?" Mizuki called out in surprise as Nari prepared an attack, a jutsu that neither had ever seen before.

Nari had used no signs at all, there was not even a hint of chakra being used, but in Nari's hand lay a perfectly round orb of blue energy.

"I can…I can see…"

"What the-!"

"Hey Mizuki… Catch!" with that, Nari thrust the orb into Mizuki's side, causing him to scream in pain as it blew up within seconds of making contact, sending him flying into the other side of the clearing they had been fighting in.

Nari stood panting, hands against her knees as she tried with increasing difficulty to not collapse.

"Nari?" The young girl turned to face her teacher, "Nari I thought you couldn't see?"

"I-Iruka-sensei, I can't. At least, I don't think I can the way other people do… I'm seeing some weird stuff here though…"

"What do you mean?"

"I can see you…But I'm not seeing you…I'm seeing an outline of you…It's weird." She tried to explain with some difficulty. It was complicated, but she was seeing everything in outlines of strange, unfamiliar energy.

"Huh?" Iruka fell silent for a few moments, thinking to himself as he observed the prone form of his former friend and teaching partner. Finally he heaved a sigh and began speaking again, "Nari, come here for a moment."

Nari approached her teacher standing at perfectly still as she could when she felt something, some sort of cloth being wrapped around her forehead. She had seen Iruka move, though admittedly there had been a short gap where everything had gone pitch black again before she could see properly, or as properly as she could with this new type of sight.

"Iruka-sensei?" she asked hesitantly, reaching up to touch the piece of cloth that had been placed on her head. She gasped as she felt cold metal under her fingertips.

"Nari, congratulations. You graduated!" Nari cheered excitedly as she glomped her teacher happily. The poor injured man laughed, groaning slightly in pain as his back wound became aggravated.

"Thank you so much sensei!"

_A_

* * *

_t the Hokage Tower…_

Many of the ninja had returned empty handed, none of them being able to find the Jinchuriki, and they were furious as a result.

"We should have taken care of her when we had the chance!"

"She could be anywhere with that scroll by now!"

"Blasted demon child!"

"Everybody silence! Please calm down!" everybody quieted at the beckoning of their leader, turning to face the Hokage. "You have nothing to worry about, Nari Uzumaki will be returning soon, with the scroll in hand." He said, watching silently as the group of assembled shinobi relaxed gradually, though some still seemed to be rather tense about the situation. He gave a kind smile, barely noticeable before returning back to his office.

Once inside he seemed to gradually age bit by bit before sitting down, exhausted and tired. Things had just become very complicated over the course of just one night. Not only had one of his chunin been revealed to be a traitor, and Nari Uzumaki, the village Jinchuriki, had just awoken to her bloodline limit, the Ōra no me or the Eyes of Aura. She would want an explanation when she got back, and that meant he would have to reveal at least part of her heritage to her before her parents would have wanted her to know. And then on top of that, she had also found out about the Kyuubi no Jakkaru, yes, things had indeed become more complicated. With a heavy sigh the Hokage leaned back into his chair, starring forlornly at a picture of a young man with short golden hair that looked remarkably like Nari herself, _'Oh Minato…If only you were here. Things could be so much easier for your daughter…' _At least one good thing had come out of this whole entire mess, and it seemed that maybe things were looking up for the young Jinchuriki.

* * *

_Next Time..._

_"Jii-chan, what's wrong with my eyes?"_

_"Nari it's about your parents..."_

_"The members of team..."_

* * *

A/N. Well what do you guys think? I hope you guys enjoyed it and sorry about any and all mistakes made. Anyways, thanks for reading and please review, I'll try and get the next chapter up tomorrow, see ya!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N. Here's the fourth chapter. Thanks for reading and glad that you guys kept up with it. I really do appreciate the reviews and favoriting and alerting too! Speaking of reviews, time for review replies!

To Ferdawg: Thanks and I read that fanfic. Very good and actually there are more but I don't remember what they are called. To find them you just have to type in "Blind!Naruto" into the search engine thingy on the website, you can also type "Naruto is blind" in it as well to get a few results. Oh, and actually the blindness is only temporary, read the chapter and you'll find out why. Though I may make her permanently blind sometime in the future. I wanted to make this a Blind!Naruto story, but I'm not that great a writer yet. I think I'd make it complicated if I tried a full-blown thing like that, at least right now anyways. Oh, anyways hope you enjoy the story and thanks again for the review!

To weirn018: Thanks and hope you like this chapter as well!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! If I did, Orochimaru would've been dead the very first season.**

* * *

**Episode 3: Jonin Senseis and Team assignments!**

* * *

Nari heaved a tired sigh as she walked into the classroom. Today was the day that they would receive their team assignments, and Nari vacantly wondered who she'd be placed with as she sat down in one of the seats closest to the window. She was early, extremely so, and it would probably be awhile before anybody arrived. Having nothing better to do, Nari let herself remember her talk with the Hokage three days ago…

* * *

_Flashback (Three days ago)…_

"_Nari, thank you for coming to my office on such short notice, and after such a stressing event." The old man greeted as she walked into his office._

"_S'nothing, I had a question for you anyways, so I would've came here anyways."_

"_Of course Nari."_

"_So Jii-chan, what did you need me for?"_

"_Nari, I wanted to talk to you about two things, the first being the demon inside you, and the second being about something strange that might have occurred while you were out fighting Mizuki."_

"_Actually, that's what I wanted to ask you about, that and why did the fourth Hokage pick me to be the vessel for the Demon, couldn't he have used somebody else?"_

"_Yes well Nari, he could've but he didn't. Now I can't tell you who he is, you'll either have to wait or figure it out on your own, but Nari, the fourth Hokage was many things, and quite a few villages will probably tell you some negative things about him as well, but one thing he definitely was not, was a selfish man. There was no way he could ask somebody to make such a great sacrifice such as giving their child to be used to seal away a demon, unless he was willing to make that sacrifice himself." The old man began, a gentle, if very regretful smile placed on his face, "Nari, he sealed the Kyuubi no Jakkaru into you because he felt you would be able to handle it, he trusted you with the greatest task he could ever ask of anybody in this village, something many full-trained shinobi could not succeed in doing at that time. To protect the village by using themselves. Nari, you are not the demon that attacked our village, of that I want to make perfectly clear to you, no matter what anybody may claim. You are what keeps that demon from killing us all."_

"_Thanks Jii-chan, I needed that I think, more than anything else…but on to my other question…Jii-chan, is something wrong with me?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I…During the battle with Mizuki, I lost my eyesight. But then when it really counted, when I really needed it, I could see again. But not the way I used to."_

"_And how is it that you are seeing now."_

"_Jii-chan, I thought I went blind, that should be permanent, but Jii-chan, I'm seeing everything in these weird outlines. It's like everything is emitting this strange energy, and it's definitely not chakra…Jii-chan-"_

_She cut herself off when she realized that the old man was laughing at her, "Jii-chan this is serious! Something could be really wrong with me, and you're laughing at me!"_

"_Oh Nari, I'm sorry for laughing at you. But Nari, you're panicking for nothing. There is nothing wrong with you Nari, it's just something to be expected, what with who your parents were and all."_

"_Wait, my parents? And you knew this was going to happen?"_

"_Well yes, to answer your first question Nari, this whole thing was to be expected, well not this early at least, but yes, I saw it coming. And yes Nari, your parents, or at least one of them, can be blamed, so to speak, for your strange eye sight at the moment."_

"_So why is everything so funky all of a sudden?"_

"_Tell me Nari, have you ever heard of the word dojutsu?"_

"_Um…Aren't those a type of bloodline limit having to do with one's eyes?"_

"_Yes, Nari, the reason everything is so strange to you right now is because you've awoken to your family's Dojutsu."_

"_Wait? I have a family, a clan?"_

"_I'm sorry to disappoint you Nari, but in all honesty and as far as we can tell, you Nari, your clan was wiped out along with the village it belonged to many years ago, back when your mother and father were still children." The young Jinchuriki wilted at this bit of news, "If there are any survivors besides you, then we have no idea where they are. I'm afraid that they've gone in hidden themselves away if there really are any left."_

"_Oh…Can you still tell me about them?"_

"_Why of course. Now let's see, where to start? Ah yes, well, your mother was a part of the Uzumaki Clan of Uzushiogakure, famous for their unnaturally long life spans and mastery over fuinjutsu, which was what led to their destruction I'm afraid. Your mother was the only know survivor of the war that destroyed the village. But I digress slightly." The man said making a sort of pushing motion with his hand, "The Uzumaki Clan was famous for many things, including two of the previously stated traits that made the village they belonged to famous, they were also known for their prowess as tracking ninja, and also their usage of some strange techniques and taijutsu style that nobody outside of the clan could learn or even hope to copy successfully."_

"_Why is that?"_

"_The very same reason that you are currently seeing everything as you termed it, 'strangely'. You see Nari, the Uzumaki Clan had a bloodline limit, a dojutsu that allowed them to perform these amazing feats; The Ōra no Me, or the Eyes of Aura. With these eyes, the Uzumaki Clan, your clan, could sense and fight using the living essence that dwells inside of all things, but living and not. They could use an energy called aura. Your mother, Kushina Uzumaki, was a master at using the dojutsu among many other things." By now Nari's currently dulled eyes were sparkling in wonderment._

"_Wow…My mother was really that impressive…"_

"_Yes Nari, she was."_

"_Oh Jii-chan, my eyesight will come back right?"_

"_Yes Nari, you have nothing to worry about. The Ōra no Me takes away your eyesight temporarily so you can get use to its powers and abilities, and over the course of three days, it should gradually return, you might also find yourself differently once you have your eyesight back. Don't worry, that would be your clan's taijutsu showing through. Apparently it was never written down in any scrolls simply because those of your clan would learn it naturally without any outside help or tutelage."_

"_I see…" Nari's response disappeared in a yawn as she wiped at her eyes blearily. She was sleepy. The old man chuckled in amusement as he shuffled some papers on his desk setting them aside as he spoke to the young girl,_

"_It's alright Nari, if you have any more questions come by later and ask them. For now, you need to get home and get some sleep, there is no way you can tell me you're not exhausted after today's events. Go get some rest, give your poor mind a break."_

"_Ok Jii-chan…"_

"_Oh and Nari..."_

"_Yes Jii-chan?"_

"_What I've just told you is an SS-rank secret. Not many people know about it. Please be careful who you tell."_

"_Ok Jii-chan. Don't worry. Good night!"_

"_Good night Nari."…_

* * *

_Present time…_

About two days after her eyesight had suddenly returned and after that while training, she found herself fighting a lot better, a lot smoother then she had before awakening to her dojutsu. The Ōra no Me was really something, that was for sure. As Nari continued to dwell on this, some of the other graduates began to trickle into the room slowly. Nari gave an involuntary yawn, and without really meaning to, put her head down and went to sleep.

* * *

_Elsewhere (the Hokage Tower)…_

The Hokage sat at his desk quietly observing the jonin gathered before him. Many of them were there only for appearances sake, only nine out of the twenty-one or so passing students would make it on to become real genin, the rest would be sent back to school for more practice, unless they quit and gave up, taking on civilian jobs instead. The Hokage smiled slightly to himself as he noticed that Kakashi Hatake had shown up on time for once, hopefully the earth wasn't about to split in two as a result.

"Quiet! Everybody, I would like you attention please…" the old man finally spoke out, feeling he had given them enough time to talk amongst themselves about this and that, "Now, as I'm sure we all know, we are gathered here today to discuss and make any final adjustments to this year's genin teams. Now before we continue on, are there any questions at all?" silence was all that he was met with, "Good, now let's begin…"

* * *

_Sometime later…_

"Kakashi Hatake, you're in charge of Team 7: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Nari Uzumaki. Kurenai Yuhi, you have team 8 with Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inazuka, and Shino Aburame. Asuma Sarutobi, you will lead team 10: Choji Akamichi, Shikamaru Nara, and finally Ino Yamanaka. Would any of you like to make any changes to your roster?"

"Pardon me, Hokage-sama, but I would like to make a slight adjustment please." A young woman with striking red eyes and wavy black hair that fell just below her shoulders spoke up,

"Why yes Kurenai, what is it?"

"I'd like to trade Kiba Inazuka, with Nari Uzumaki." The woman said, an unshakable resolve could be heard in her voice.

"And why, pray tell, would you want to do that?" the man asked a bit surprised.

"Yes Kurenai, please could you explain why you want the Uzumaki child on your team?" came Kakashi's questioning voice as well, "It just doesn't seem to be something you'd do."

"Hokage-sama, there is nothing wrong with the team arrangements that you've given us, but I feel as if you are not taking _that _into account. If we did, then I believe that Nari Uzumaki would do much better on my team, especially with Hinata Hyuuga, who has a very similar thought definitely not the same, abilities."

"I see your point…"

"And furthermore, Nari's energetic, determined, strong-willed, but surprisingly kind and gentle personality might have a positive effect on the admittedly weak-willed Hyuuga Heiress, it might cause her to truly strive to better herself rather than staying so timid and afraid. And her being there may help the Aburame heir to become a little more receptive to others. Shino's quietness and reserved personality would also hopefully mellow out some of Nari's more mischievous and spastic tendencies."

"True, Kurenai, I honestly say we give it a try, you may be right. What do you say Kakashi? Willing to trade Kurenai Nari Uzumaki for Kiba Inazuka?"

"I don't see any problems with it at the moment. Who knows, maybe it'd be for the best. After all, I can, with all honesty, admit that there is a chance that I may place Sasuke Uchiha over the others in levels of importance, and in all truthfulness, I think it'd be a better idea to keep Nari and Sasuke away from each other. She may not act like it all the time, but I'm pretty sure she holds a rivalry with the last Uchiha, sticking them both on the same team might cause distress instead of helping. I say go with it, but the decision is yours to make Hokage-sama."

"Hm…Yes, well, it's final then, we'll place Nari Uzumaki in team 10, and put Kiba Inazuka in her place on team 7. Does anybody else have any other suggestions? No, then meeting adjourned." All the jonin nodded as they shunshinned out of the room. Leaving the room empty save for the Hokage himself and Iruka Umino, who was waiting to receive the team roster before heading to his class.

"Well here you go Iruka, take care getting to the academy, you're still injured remember?"

"Of course Hokage-sama, but may I ask. Are you sure this is a good idea, placing Nari on team 8 with those two?"

"Iruka, unfortunately I cannot say whether it is a good idea or not. I cannot predict the future and what it holds unfortunately, time can only tell whether this was indeed a good idea or not."

"I see…"

"Now then Iruka, you have a class full of students waiting for you, you best get going before Nari decides to booby trap the doors again."

"Of course Hokage-sama. Have a nice day."

"You too Iruka, you too…"

* * *

_Back at the academy…_

Nari opened her eyes slightly, slightly bleary from having just been stirred from her nap. She stared at her hand, eyes widening in slight surprise as she noticed a small bug crawling across her skin, the cause of tickling feeling that had woken her up just a few seconds ago. As it continued its trek up the back of her hand, Nari gave a gentle smile, before tucking her head in the crook of her elbow, allowing the bug to do as it pleased while she tried to get a little more sleep before Iruka-sensei arrived. She hadn't even had her eyes closed for a good minute before Sakura Haruno, a pinkette girl with an obsession for the youngest Uchiha, started talking to her,

"Uh Nari…don't mean to scare you, but there's a bug crawling across your hand…" she said pointing at the small creature that had yet to make its way off her hand, though she doubted it would ever get off without her doing something about it herself,

"I know, what do you want me to do about it?" she questioned giving the pinkette her full attention,

"Uh get rid of it? It's gross! How in the world can you just sit there while it crawls all over your hand?" Sakura questioned, a look of pure disgust on her face as she stared at the bug warily.

"S'not that big a deal…" Nari said shrugging her shoulders, "It's not hurting anything is it?"

"No, but it's so gross! Just kill it already or something!"

"But it's not hurting anything, and honestly, it doesn't look all that gross. See?" she asked as she attempted to give Sakura a closer look at the bug, which probably wasn't one of her brightest ideas that week as Sakura squealed in disgust, swatting Nari's hand away from her face and sending the poor bug flying. Nari panicked slightly, quickly making to catch the falling bug before it would up a pancake under somebody's shoe or something like that. The bug never came down though, sprouting wings and buzzing off toward a boy sitting in the seat across the aisle from her. The boy, Shino Aburame, was one of the more quieter, secretive students from her class. She hadn't talked to him much, really she hadn't talked to any of her classmates at all, just the random and off conversation about either this or that, she could never be sure what their parents had told them about her after all. And she wasn't looking forward to being insulted by kids that barely knew her and wouldn't give her a chance in the first place. What she did know about the boy though, was that he seemed to be quite fond of insects of all kinds and variety.

"Sorry about that. I guess that wasn't one of my more brighter ideas, the little bugs okay isn't he?" Nari asked as she turned to face the young clan heir. The boy stayed silent for a bit, leading Nari to almost believe that he had been sleeping like she had, until he finally spoke up,

"It's fine, and don't worry…I'm shocked that you didn't do that on purpose when you first saw it though…" Nari smiled gently as she responded,

"Oh, why would that be? It's just a little bug is all. Kinda cute in my opinion, and he wasn't hurting anything so there really wasn't any problem with him being there. Is he yours?"

"Yes, my clan uses bugs to help take down our enemies, you're one of the few people outside of the clan who doesn't panic when they see them…"

"It that bad?"

"No, just unusual I guess…"

"Hmm…" Nari responded, gently placing her head down again with a yawn. She had become very sleepy again, it was short lived though as the door to the class room opened, revealing Iruka-sensei as he walked to his desk.

"Good morning everybody. Now today is your last day in this classroom, as my students. Tomorrow, you will be full-fledged ninja, tools of Konohagakure. But don't let it get to your head, this is only the beginning and among the other shinobi, you are nothing more than little worms to be crushed under their feet. Be careful out there, and remember that your life will always be on the line out there, maybe not at first, but it will be eventually." Iruka said, a foreboding tone to his voice, before he cheered up in a matter of seconds, "Now then, time for your team assignments…" Nari tuned him out, feeling that her name probably wasn't going to be called anytime soon.

* * *

_Sometime later…_

"Team five is Jinko Yamata, Liang Matsumoto, and Kurin Kurosaki, your jonin instructor is Matabe Ingyo. Team six is still in circulation. Team Seven consists of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno," a cheer from said pinkette cut through what Iruka was saying, eliciting a verbal argument between her, Ino Yamanaka, and several other fangirls of Sasuke Uchiha and causing him to stop for a moment until everybody was silent again before he continued, "and Kiba Inazuka, your jonin instructor is Kakashi Hatake. Team Eight is Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuuga, and Nari Uzumaki, your jonin instructor is Kurenai Yuhi. Team Nine already exists, and finally Team ten: Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akamichi, and Shikamaru Nara, your jonin instructor is Asuma Sarutobi. Any questions?" he waited but no hand was raised, "Good, now we will have a lunch break, meet back here in an hour so you can meet your jonin instructor. See ya after lunch!"…

* * *

_Next time…_

"_Hello, I'm Kurenai Yuhi."_

"_Nari, why did you become a ninja in the first place?"_

"_I will get the power to protect what I deem precious!"_

"_Who are-"_

"_**Hello there little miss,,,:**_

* * *

A/N. That's it for this chapter, I was hoping to make it longer, but I would up stopping here. Anyways hope you liked it and please review! See ya!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N. Hey guys, here's the semi-long awaited chapter 5! Sorry about it taking so long. I kept writing and re-writing the chapter. But you guys probably don't care about that, so time for review replies!

To weirn018: Thanks and hope you like this one as well!

To IndigoButterfly: Heh, glad I can still surprise you. And yeah, I wanted to put her on the same team as Shino, mainly because I've decided that this is going to be a Fem!NaruxShino fanfic. Finally figured out the pairing! Anyways, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

To Ferdawg: Yes, and thanks for reviewing. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

Before we move onto the disclaimer though, big announcement! If you guys are wondering what Nari really looks like go onto my bio, there's a link that you can copy and paste to see what she looks like on deviantart.

**Disclaimer: I claim nothing except any OC that I create!**

* * *

**Episode 4: Meeting Kurenai Yuhi!**

* * *

Nari, Shino, and Hinata sat in the corner of the classroom, the bell ending lunch having rung some time ago, they were now waiting for their jonin instructor in silence, a huge contrast to the remaining teams still left in the classroom, who were all loud and noisily talking to each other, an occasional fight breaking about between those with extremely short fuses and no real patience.

"A-ano…When do you think our sensei will get here?" Hinata asked, breaking the calm silence that had settled over the members of team 8. Shino fell into a contemplative silence as he continued to stare at the front of the room, wondering the same exact thing, though not voicing it verbally.

"I'm not entirely sure Hinata-san, but hopefully she will arrive soon." Shino said finally.

"O-oh…N-Nari-chan, what do you think?" Hinata turned to Nari, a slightly expectant look on her face, accompanied by her tilting her head, making her the perfect picture of at least somewhat mild curiosity. Nari seemed to think for a couple of seconds before shrugging, in truth not really paying attention to what was going on. She had, up until that point, been practicing activating and deactivating her dojutsu, allowing her vision to disappear from her and trading it for the sensory abilities that her clan had been gifted with.

"Don't know." She finally answered from her curled up position in her seat. Her being almost a year younger then the others and therefore, smaller then everyone else in her class allowed her to curl into a ball in the seats and still have room to move and be able to sit comfortably at that. Her mind strayed from her thoughts concerning her size as she began to debate the pros and cons of setting up a prank for their sensei before she arrived. Nari sighed, deciding it wasn't worth the effort it would take for her to get up and prepare for it; she was a bit too comfy right now to try anything at the moment anyways. Instead she allowed her attention to drift down to the Kikaichu bug that had landed on her hand, watching it as it slowly crawled its way back and forth across her hand.

"O-Ok…" Hinata said, visibly deflating slightly at not being able to at least get the normally talkative Nari involved in what she had deemed a half-butted attempt at starting a decent conversation. "A-Ano..." she was cut off from any further attempts however when the distinctive sound of something popping shattered the noise and bustle of the rest of the room, leaving the three genin thinking that Sakura had popped somebody in the head again. They were proven wrong however when they noticed in a matter of seconds the large cloud of smoke at the front of the classroom. It slowly dissipated, revealing a young woman in her mid to late twenties, with medium-length, wavy, black hair and sharp red eyes. The woman's posture had a subtle commanding force to it that one wouldn't detect unless they had been paying attention.

"The name's Kurenai Yuhi. Team 8, meet me on the roof in five minutes." She said turning to leave out the door, not having even been standing there longer then maybe a few seconds. The two of the three genin of team 8 visibly blinked in surprise slightly, before shaking themselves out of their stupor and getting up to follow their jonin instructor.

* * *

_Four minutes later…_

"Perfect timing you three, with just a minute to spare." Kurenai said as the three genin walked through the door that led to the roof of the academy. "Now c'mon over here and sit down so we can get started." She finished, beckoning them over with a simple hand gesture. Shino and Hinata hesitated slightly at first, but quickly joined both Nari in sitting down with their sensei.

"Good, at least now we know who here has the most confidence in themselves." Kurenai joked humorlessly, "Now that we're all here, let's start by introducing ourselves to each other, just give us your name, likes and maybe dislikes if you have any, goals in life and anything else you deem important. I'll go first so you have an example. Now let's see…Well, as I stated before in the classroom, my name is Kurenai Yuhi, I like dango, training, and reading. I dislike people who don't put forth the effort necessary to gain anything and just expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter as soon as they ask for it. I specialize in using Genjutsu, and my goal is to make you three the best shinobi you can possibly be or die trying. Shino, now it's your turn." She said, before motioning towards Shino,

"My name is Shino Aburame." He paused to give himself sometime to think before continuing, "I like insects and collecting and observing them. I don't like people who crush insects for their own amusement or because they find them disgusting for no reason. My goal is to discover new breeds and species of insects and to one day succeed as clan head. I use parasitic bugs known as Kikaichu in all of my ninjutsu." Shino said before turning to Hinata, though he reconsidered that as soon as he saw her try and disappear into her own jacket. They were all sure that if she could, she'd sink into the ground in a split second. Hinata gulped nervously, trying her best to summon the courage to speak, she began her own introduction.

"A-ano…M-My name is Hinata H-Hyuuga. I l-like flower pressing and creating different kinds of m-medicine. I dislike people who t-treat others p-poorly." She stated nervously fiddling with her fingers once again, "My goal is to make my f-father proud, and one day be able to succeed the clan. I-I can use the Byakugan…t-though it isn't as p-powerful as the r-rest of m-my families." She stated nervously. Kurenai gave a nod of confirmation as she made a mental note to work with Hinata on her chronic shyness, hopefully placing the Jinchuriki on this team had in fact been a good idea and would help in the matter.

"Ok good, looks like you're last Nari." The jonin said as she turned to face said blond.

"Dattebane! My name's Nari Uzumaki. I like ramen, training, and reading to a certain extent. Oh, and gardening too. I hate people who think they are better than everybody else, even when they aren't, and people who judge others without getting to know them first." Nari started, only barely noticing the quick look of surprise that flickered across Kurenai's face, before it calmed down just as quickly. "um, what else… Oh yeah! My goal is to become powerful enough to protect those precious to me." Nari paused a bit, glancing at Kurenai in a silent question, who nodded in confirmation. This did not go unnoticed by Shino and Hinata, who immediately understood that whatever Nari was about to tell them was most likely a big secret that many weren't supposed to know about.

"Um…First off, like Hinata, I have a dojutsu too. It's the Ōra no Me." Nari began explaining the dojutsu when she saw her teammates confused expressions, "The Ōra no Me or the Eyes of Aura, are a dojutsu utilized by members of the Uzumaki Clan, you can pretty much tell what that makes me. Anyways, they give me the ability to sense the living essence that resides in all things, alive or not, which is called aura, hence the name. I can also make use of it as well." She said quickly, about to continue on when Shino interrupted,

"Wait, before you continue. You said that you were a part of the Uzumaki Clan, why is it we've never heard of it?" he asked, eyebrow quirked slightly in curiosity,

"A-Ano, Nari-chan, I have to a-agree with Shino-kun. H-How come we have never heard of the U-Uzumaki Clan? I-is it one of the minor c-clans o-or something like that?" Hinata spoke up as well. Nari paused a bit, looking towards Kurenai for an explanation of what a minor clan meant, as she was not familiar with these sorts of things,

"A minor clan is a small clan without a whole lot of say in what goes on within the village, it's not as influential or powerful as the major clans, like say the Hyuugas." Kurenai explained quickly,

"Oh. Actually, the reason you guys probably haven't heard of it, is because it might as well be a dead clan." Both Shino and Hinata's eyes widened at the statement, causing Nari to quickly elaborate on what she had meant, "What I meant was that I'm the last known living member of my clan." She said, waiting to see what her teammates would say about the news.

Both Shino and Hinata were silent in thought, before one of them, Shino, finally spoke up again,

"If that's so, then we should have at least been taught about it in passing. We all learn about the Uchiha Massacre. Why not the Uzumaki Clan?" Shino asked, it seemed unusual to him that a clan would not at least be mentioned. There had to be a reason why nobody had ever heard about it. Nari's expression was one of slight confusion as she wasn't sure how exactly to explain the reason behind that. Kurenai took notice of this, and with a barely noticeable sigh, answered in the young genin's stead,

"That's a good question Shino, and a valid one at that." She started explaining, a gentle smile on her face, "The reason you don't learn about the Uzumaki Clan in the academy is because it wasn't a clan that was associated with this village, it belonged to another." Kurenai answered this time, Nari nodded in confirmation.

"A-Ano…Then s-shouldn't Nari-chan be in the other v-village, n-not here in K-Konoha?" Hinata asked, expression one of extreme confusion now,

"Well, for one thing Nari wasn't born in that village, she was born in Konoha. Her mother, who was a member of the Uzumaki Clan, was brought here as a child, coincidentally saving her from the annihilation of her village and clan. For reasons not publicly known, she spent the remaining years of her childhood in Konoha, eventually falling in love with a shinobi of the village, the end result was of course, Nari here. And besides, even if she wasn't born here, there is no village for her to go back to. The village the Uzumaki Clan belonged to was annihilated, along with the country it protected during one of the great shinobi wars. There isn't anything left to go back to, I'm afraid."

"I-I see…" Hinata wilted, feeling horrible for divulging such unfortunate news. To have a whole entire country wiped out like that, and only one single survivor, it was horrible. "A-Ano, d-do you know what the Uzumaki Clan Symbol was, K-Kurenai-sensei?" Kurenai smiled at this question,

"Why yes, almost all the chunin, jonin, and anbu in the village that wear a flak jacket bear it on their backs. And then it is often also incorporated into the shoulder area of the sleeves of the long sleeved shirts that some of the jonin and chunin wear. We do it in remembrance of the clan itself, as apparently we had some very close knit ties to them." Kurenai explained as she tapped her back, though she herself didn't wear it, it was very hard to miss with so many of the village shinobi and even some of the civilians wearing it. Shino fell into a contemplative silence as he mulled over the new information he and Hinata had received. Nari was putting a whole lot of faith into them, entrusting them with a secret that could very well get her killed on a mission if the wrong people were to find out that there was a surviving member of a now nearly annihilated clan. Whoever had been against them, for whatever reason they had, had been thorough enough to even destroy the entire country itself in order to make sure that there were no possible survivors. That was a whole lot of trust to be placing in somebody that they barely even knew.

"I can see that you two seem to be understanding the importance of this type of information. Correct?" Kurenai asked as she surveyed the other two,

"Yes, Kurenai-sensei." They both said without hesitation, Hinata not even stuttering when she responded. "D-don't worry Nari-chan, y-your secret is s-safe with us, right S-Shino-kun?"

"Yes."

"Good. Because you don't really have much of a choice in the matter anyways. As you can understand, this is a SS-rank secret, not even the village council knows about this. Heck, the only reason I know is because I, to a certain extent, knew Nari's mother, and because I'm to be her jonin instructor. You can't even tell your parents abou this." Kurenai elaborated, her tone serious and meaningful.

"Hai." Shino and Hinata responded again.

"Good, now that we have all that out of the way. I'd like to begin explaining your first mission."

"Mission?" Nari asked slightly surprised,

"Yes, it's a sort of survival test. But there's a catch."

"Wait, I thought we were done with all the testing? And what catch?"

"This test is to see if you are truly ready to become genin." Kurenai said, catching sight of their expressions and continuing on, "The test you took in the academy is to see if you had the skills to become genin, now I have to see if you're really cut out for it. The catch is that you'll be surviving against me."

"Wait, what?" Nari asked in shock,

"Yes, oh, and not to scare you guys or anything, but only a small percentage of you class will be making it into the true ranks of genin. Nine students total." Kurenai said, expression one as if she were just talking about how nice the weather is. "I recommend not eating unless you want to lose what breakfast you ate. Be at Trainng Ground 8 before 9 0'clock, Got it?"

"Hai!"

"Good, well then, it's time to go home, see you all later… And actually, Hinata, Shino, I need to speak with you two privately before you head home okay?"

"Yes ma'am." Nari seemed to hesitate for a bit, but left to head for home, she was pretty sure she'd see her teammates tomorrow, and it was obvious that she wasn't meant to hear what was going to be said. She wouldn't lie to herself and say that she didn't feel a little left out though.

* * *

_With Shino, Hinata, and Kurenai…_

Kurenai seemed to stand silently for a bit, a contemplative look on her face.

"A-ano Kurenai-sensei. W-What was the r-reason for us staying behind?" Hinata asked, shy as ever.

"Hm? Oh yes, it's about Nari as you probably could have guessed."

"You want us to try and help keep her safe on missions." It wasn't a question, though it did sound kinda lie one.

"Not necessarily Shino. The Uzumaki Clan were no pushovers, it took two countries teaming up against them to bring them down, and even then they were great loses on the opposing side. Nari can handle herself, there is no doubt about that in my mind, but once we get into higher missions, such as C-rank missions, yes, I'm counting on you both, to help her at least a little bit. Not just because she's the last remaining member of her clan, but because she's teammate, and hopefully your friend as well."

"Of course sensei…" Shino responded without hesitation. He made no indication that there was anything wrong, but Kurenai could tell there was something on his mind,

"What is it Shino?" she asked him, tilting her head in curiosity.

"It's just, why did Hokage-sama hide this from the council? Wouldn't it have been more beneficial to tell the council about Nari's status as a clan member, rather than keeping it a secret?"

"Well Shino, that does sound like a good idea, let me remind you of Uchiha Sasuke, who despite still having some of his family left, acts snooty as crap. Nari is by every single definition of the word an orphan. There are members on the council who would use that to gain more power than they already have, and seriously, do you really think you could handle another Uchiha Sasuke in your class?" their answer was an uncomfortable silence, but it spoke volumes for what they really thought of the the arrogant child in question. Uchiha Sasuke was not pleasant by any stretch of the word, having another was probably nothing short of a nightmare to them at the moment.

"Ok, I think that's enough for the day. It's getting late, and by now Kakashi should have arrived and gotten his team, let's leave so they can have the roof to themselves now. Besides, you all have a test tomorrow, remember?" the two genin nodded to their sensei as they all left to head for home. One thing was for sure, tomorrow was going to be a very tiring and busy day.

* * *

_With Nari…_

She was confused, and more than slightly disoriented. She couldn't remember how she had gotten here, but low and behold, here she was standing in a dark, musty, and dank sewer. Up to her ankles in water and hearing what sounded like something breathing in the distance. She didn't want to, but that breathing was probably her only way out of here. So she followed it. When she got to where the breathing noises were coming from, her eyes widened in barely contained fear.

"**Why hello there, Little Miss…"**

* * *

A/N. Thanks for reading everybody and hope you enjoyed the chapter! This took me awhile to come up with so I'd be sorely disappointed if it turned out ugly. Oh yeah, before I leave for the night, first things first. This is important to the overall plot, so please give me your opinions, but what would you guys think if I did a love square between Shino, Gaara, and Sasuke, with Gaara eventually establishing himself as a younger/older brother figure to Nari and Sasuke and Shino vying for her affections? Please give me your guys' opinion and again thanks for reading! Oh, and please, please, PLEASE review! Bye bye!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N. Here's the sixth chapter, fifth episode of Nari Uzumaki: Jinchuriki of the Jackal. Hope you guys like it and thanks for reading. Oh, and I don't remember stating this before, but a little fun fact for everybody concerning Nari, she's actually half a year younger then

To ByEvelyn: Thanks for the review, and for apparently freeing my chapter. I'm glad you liked the portrayal, honestly I was worried that the chapter would be horrible, apparently it wasn't. Thanks so much for the review and please enjoy this chapter as well.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!**

* * *

**Episode 5: To Be a Team! Test to become Genin!**

* * *

_**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!-**__SMASH!-_

Nari groaned as she de-plied herself from the comfort and warmth of her bed, shooting a scornful glare at her alarm clock, or rather, what was left of the alarm clock, having been brutally smashed by an aura-infused fist in irritation at being woken up so suddenly.

"Stupid alarm clock…" the young Uzumaki grumbled scornfully as she began to get ready for the test today.

Nari paused on her way out, glancing at the clock on the kitchen stove as she realized she had a good half hour to spare before she had to be at the Training Grounds for the true test to become a genin. She thought for a moment, contemplative as she took a minute to look through the fridge. She was hungry, but Kurenai had told them not to eat unless they wanted to lose their lunch so to speak. But if they were going to be taking on a jonin, wouldn't it make sense to eat first, that way you had the energy to spare and you could do better in combat. If she remembered correctly from one of the few times she had actually paid attention in class, you did best when you were well-fed and had all the nutrients necessary to perform like you should. Common sense said that if the test was truly as rigorous as Kurenai had made it sound, then yes, she shouldn't eat unless she wanted to vomit. But then since when did Nari ever listen to what common sense said. She grinned as she reached into the fridge to grab a bottle of milk, not expired, and then went to the kitchen cupboard for a box of cereal. Looks like she was having breakfast after all.

* * *

_At training Ground 8…_

Nari arrived a couple of minutes before nine o' clock, a content grin on her face as she joined Shino and Hinata in waiting for their sensei who arrived shortly after Nari. Kurenai surveyed all of them, noting that they all seemed primed and ready for almost anything that could be thrown at them.

"Okay then. Looks like everybody's here, good. Now to explain you test. You are all going to be fighting me, your goal though, is to get one of these." She said as she held up her hand, a tinkling sound heard as she revealed the two bells in her hand.

"A-ano…Kurenai-sensei, w-why are there only t-two bells?" Hinata asked pointing towards said items. Kurenai chuckled slightly as she answered,

"Because only two of you will pass. You will also get a bento as well if you manage to get the bells. Anybody who doesn't get one will fail and have to without lunch on top of not eating breakfast." All three genin glared at the jonin in suspicion at what she had just told them. The same basic running through all of their heads, _'That's why she told us not to eat!', _"Oh, and come at me with the intent to kill, if you don't you'll just get your butt handed to you, understand?" they all nodded in unison.

"Good, you have until an hour past noon to get the bells, now on your mark, get set, go!" Both Hinata and Shino disappeared, Nari staying behind to confront Kurenai herself. "Nari, you're supposed to hide."

"I know. But I want to fight you. Let's go!" Nari yelled out as she charged at the jonin. Kurenai got into a basic taijutsu stance, already preparing to use a genjutsu to stun her if need be.

"You're definitely an odd one Nari." Kurenai admitted as the two confronted each other in a short bout of taijutsu, which ended with Nari getting trapped in a genjutsu. Kurenai then attempted to punch her only to be stopped when Nari suddenly and unexpectedly kicked out, forcing Kurenai back again. "Looks like genjutsu won't work on you anymore, eh Nari?" There was no response, instead Nari shook her head, clearing out any remaining affects the genjutsu might have had on her. Nari made to charge at Kurenai once again, only to be grabbed suddenly by Shino, who dragged her into the surrounding forest with him.

"Now that was unexpected." Kurenai said before casting a genjutsu to hide herself from the three.

* * *

_A bit later with Shino and Nari…_

"Nari, you are an idiot. What in the world and the seven layers of hell possessed you to try and take on our jonin instructor directly?" Shino asked, voice a little more emotional than normal. Nari flinched back a bit in slight surprise, not expecting anybody to have reprimanded her for something like that. At her expression Shino sighed, "Never mind, I'm sorry for snapping at you like that."

"I-It's fine…" Nari uncharacteristically stuttered out. "Um…I-" she didn't finish as she and Shino turned towards the brush, the sound of something heading towards them reaching their ears as they stiffened. Nari quickly relaxed though as she sensed the person's aura. "Shino, it's just Hinata." Nari said just as the Hyuuga heiress entered the small clearing.

"A-Ano, h-hello."

"Hey Hinata." Shino greeted as Hinata sat down next to Nari. "Now that we're all together we need to figure out how to get those bells…"

"A-ano…N-Nari-chan, i-is something the m-matter?" Hinata asked as she turned to look at the young Jinchuriki.

"Maybe…" She said, receiving confused looks in return, "Hey Shino, have you ever actually heard of a squad having anything less than three?" Nari asked as she turned to face the Aburame, expression completely serious. Shino was silent for a moment, before an eyebrow visibly quirked, the only sign that his eyes had widened in realization.

"No I haven't. Nari, I take back what I said about you being a complete idiot." Shino said as he figured out the secret behind this test.

"A-Ano Shino-kun, w-what is it?"

"C'mon, I have a plan you two." Shino said as he led both girls back into the woods.

* * *

_With Kurenai…_

Kurenai stood leaning against one of the three training logs that were placed in the center of the large clearing, inspecting her nails nonchalantly when she got a tingling feeling in the back of her neck, the only indication she had to move before a horde of kunai and shuriken came whizzing at her from almost all directions. The kunoichi leapt from her spot, barely making it in time before she was turned into a giant, human pin cushion.

"Looks like they finally tried attacking me together. With all the time it took them, they better have one doozy of a battle strategy." Kurenai said in amusement, finally landing on the ground with a distinct thud. She waited a bit, and suddenly had to dive to the right as Hinata attacked her from behind, trying to hit her tenketsu.

"That was pretty brazen of you Hinata." Kurenai said as she continued to dodge Hinata's Jyuuken strikes. Silently though, she wondered where the other two were hiding. _'I wonder…Huh?' _Kurenai felt more then saw it when Nari dropped down on top of her out of nowhere, hands fisted together and charged with some strange type of energy, seeming hell-bent on trying to smash her head in. Kurenai had to quickly roll back to avoid the worst of it, the attack resulting in a large cloud of smoke and debris getting kicked up. When it cleared, there stood Hinata and Nari in the center of a humongous crater; the end result of Nari's attack. Kurenai had to refrain from flinching as she imagined how much that would have hurt had it made contact.

Kurenai had no time to rest though as she heard the faint sound of something buzzing, she had to dodge again as a swarm of Kikaichu bugs came flying at her, courtesy of Shino from some obscene place near the clearing most likely. She was so focused on avoiding the chakra eating parasites though, that what she didn't see was Nari coming at her with an aura infused fist. Kurenai was shocked when she felt herself fly, the pain only vaguely registering as she sent soaring five meters away by a vicious backhand to the stomach from Nari. Kurenai had to gasp for a bit, the air more than just knocked out of her as she tried to stand.

"Oh my Kami! Kurenai-sensei!" Nari shouted as she, Hinata, and the now revealed Shino came running towards her. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I-"

"Nari-_cough- _Nari it's fine. You were just following what I was saying weren't you? I told you to come at me as if you wanted to kill me, and you did exactly that, it's my fault for underestimating you three and your ability to work with each other, which I have to say is almost perfect, if still a little rough." She said, attempting to calm the girl down,

"Are you sure you're okay sensei?" Shino asked looking concerned,

"Yes I'm fine. I should've remembered that the skills that accompany the Ōra no Me are learned naturally as you continue to use it without anybody having to teach them to a person. I should've also remembered that Nari's still learning to control the Ōra no Me, so she doesn't know how to hold back with it yet." Kurenai admitted, prodding the area where she had been hit, sure it was going to be one big, nasty bruise tomorrow morning, but it was a price she was willing to pay as long as it didn't get her killed, to see what her students were capable of. Besides, getting injured came with the job of being shinobi, it wasn't a no-risk occupation by any stretch of the word. She couldn't help but chuckle dryly though as she remembered the Ōra no Me user's mother, who had also had a bad habit of sometimes going overboard when training. More then once she had sent the girl's father to the hospital because she had let her excitement get the best of her.

"Dattebane…I'm so sorry sensei, I really didn't mean to."

"Nari it's fine, your mother had the exact same problem when she first activated the clan dojutsu, and even after she got it under control finally she still managed to put several ninja in the hospital when she got overexcited during training sessions. Trust me, you are fine. Though I do suggest practicing some self-control."

"Yes Sensei."

"Good, now that that's out of the way, I'd like to congratulate you three. You all pass. Though none of you got the bells you've more than proved that you're ready and willing to work together in order to overcome any and all adversities." All three of them brightened at what Kurenai said, "Now you guys are probably tired, take the bento boxes and go eat, and then you three can head home. Tomorrow, we start the real missions." Nari cheered while Hinata just blushed and Shino gave a nod, before turning to leave and go home. Leaving Kurenai to her own devices.

"Well, looks like I have to report to Hokage-sama."

* * *

_The Hokage tower…_

"Hokage-sama, Kurenai Yuhi reporting in on the test results of Team 8." An anbu declared as said jonin instructor walked in.

"Thank you, so I see everybody is present. So who passed and who failed."

"Hokage-sama, Team 10, consisting of genin Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Aburame, and Choji Akamichi, passed." A man with a cigarette in his mouth confirmed,

"Team 7, with Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Kiba Inazuka, passed, but did so barely, they're going to need a bit of work." Kakashi admitted before pulling out his little orange book and burying his nose in it.

"Team 8 passed as well. All three did wonderful, and performed better than I expected." Kurenai said, flinching slightly when she made a movement that her still healing stomach did not agree with in the least.

"Kurenai, what the heck happened to you?" Asuma asked in shock as he faced the suffering kunoichi,

"Yes Kurenai, I do have to question what happened during that test to result in an injury."

"Nari Uzumaki is very much like her mother in many ways. Now I know why nobody wanted to challenge the Uzumaki Clan members to a taijutsu match." Kurenai said, rubbing her stomach. "They hurt, bad." Kurenai couldn't help but grimace, Kakashi flinching in sympathy as he seemed to grimace at an injury that was no longer there. He faintly remembered the one time he had dared to piss of his teacher's wife and mother to the current Jinchuriki host. He was never going to do that again, that was for sure.

"Well then, as you all already know, your missions start tomorrow. Kurenai, you best stop by the hospital to get that injury checked out." The Hokage said as he motioned to the cause of Kurenai's pain. They all nodded in unison,

"Hai Hokage-sama." They all confirmed disappearing with a shunshin. Yes, things would be getting interesting from now on, with Nari Uzumaki now a genin, new doors were bound to open, he just prayed he had made the right choices while raising the child…

* * *

_Next time:_

"_No more of these baby missions!"_

"_You will be working alongside Team 7 for this one."_

"_This is now an A-rank mission."_

"_Zabuza, the bloody demon of the mist."_

"_So one of them were left afterall."_

* * *

A/N. Ok, I may have to go back and re-do this chapter completely, hopefully not, but anyways I hope you liked it and please review. See ya!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N. Here's chapter 7 of Nari Uzumaki: Jinchuriki of the Jackal. Thanks for reading and enjoy! Oh, and as you guys have probably noticed, I suck at keeping Shino in character, it doesn't help that he wasn't shown a whole lot in the anime. But yeah, anyways, again, please enjoy!

To ByEvelyn: Oh I see, yeah I was wondering how you can liberate a chapter, but that makes sense. Mine does the same thing to me too. I'm glad you like the team, personally I myself have neutral feelings towards Team 7. I don't like how they treated canon!Naruto and I honestly think Kakashi could've done a better job training Naruto and Sakura. But that's just me. Anyways thanks for the review and enjoy!

To Your Hoshi:Thanks and glad you do. Hope you like this as well!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

* * *

**Episode 6: The Joint Mission- Journey to the Land of Waves!**

* * *

"Good job today Kurenai, you and your team are doing very well as per usual." The Hokage spoke, completely ignoring the noise going on in the background, courtesy of the Fire Daimyo's wife strangling her pet cat Tora, it was a wonder that the large woman hadn't killed it by accident yet. Kurenai, doing the same, bowed in response,

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Kurenai said before righting herself again,

"Mh yes, now next on the list of missions. We need somebody to babysit a visiting lord's children while he and his wife go exploring, one of the villagers needs a helping hand in her garden, and there's fence that needs painting…"

"OH NO!" Nari suddenly interrupted, arms crossed in a 'X' to show she did not approve of any of these missions at all,

"Nari…"

"I'm sorry sensei, but seriously, I cannot keep doing these baby missions! And no offense, but if I have to chase that stupid cat one more time, it's not coming back in one piece of that I can promise you! Please Jii-chan, give us a challenge." Though they wouldn't admit it themselves, both Hinata and Shino were thinking the same thing. These D-rank missions were becoming a tedious hassle and a giant bore. If something exciting didn't happen soon, and Nari hadn't voiced what they'd all been thinking, they probably would've been the ones to speak up some time in the future. Both Kurenai and Iruka sighed, exasperated with the young Jinchuriki host.

"Nari, listen there's a reason why genin are only given D-rank missions. They are to help you with your teamwork and-Are you even listening to me?" Nari blinked as she looked up from her place sitting on the floor, having started to block him out when he started lecturing her.

"I'm sorry Iruka-sensei, what were you saying?" Nari asked as politely as she could. Iruka just sighed, knowing full well an explanation of how the mission assignments worked out would be wasted on the young girl. "Hey Iruka-sensei, I'm sure we don't want a repeat of what happened that one time you left me in charge of one of your younger classes." Iruka paled when Nari had brought that up, those children were still going through therapy, but on the bright side they were now much more well-behaved.

"No, no I do not…" Iruka grimaced as he tried to repress the memory once again. The Hokage seemed to think for a moment, before speaking,

"Well Kurenai, what do you think? Do you believe that your team is ready for a higher ranked mission?" Kurenai paused as she turned to the other two genin, who had been silent through the whole exchange. Their eyes met, and they both nodded toward the jonin, who then turned to face the Hokage again,

"Hokage-sama, I do believe that my team is ready for at least a C-Rank mission." Kurenai responded finally. The Hokage nodded as he went searching through some scrolls before pulling out one marked in red with a C.

"Well you're in luck, we have one C-rank mission." At this, Nari perked up, struggling to refrain from bouncing around the room in excitement. "This is a joint mission, you will be working alongside Team 7 who has also been assigned this as well. Your job is to help guard a bridge builder on his way home, and then continue to protect him until the bridge is finished. Do you all understand?"

"Hai!" they all responded with a sureness that came from years of practice.

"Good, please bring in the client and the assisting team." The Hokage said motioning towards the door behind them. It slid open revealing a severely annoyed looking Team 7 with their jonin instructor, and an obviously drunk old man. Kurenai smirked slightly as she approached the other jonin,

"Kakashi." She said, her answer a nod of acknowledgement,

"Kurenai." He responded back, nose buried in his little orange book.

"Now what's this, I requested ninja, not a bunch of brats! Especially the blonde one, she's so little she doesn't even look like she should be here." The man spoke loudly, eyes gazing at them suspiciously as he staggered slightly from the alcohol he had consumed. At the insult Nari fumed, half ready to sock the man a good one with an aura and chakra infused fist.

"Nari, no. You're supposed to protect the client, not try and slaughter him." Kurenai said, taking ahold of the Uzumaki's shoulder. Nari huffed in response, taking a couple of deep breathes, "Now sir, I'd appreciate it if you didn't insult my students. And besides, it's not Nari's fault she's so small, she's almost a whole year younger than her graduating class, and she by genetics alone was meant to be a little on the petite side. Don't let her size fool you though. She's very strong like all the others."

"Besides, you have two well-trained jonin on here to protect you in case anything goes wrong." Kakashi assured the man. The old man grumbled a bit before speaking again,

"The name's Tazuna, I'm a master bridge builder. Just make sure I get to back to Wave Country okay, and we'll be good." The man said, obviously one with a lot of pride in himself and his job.

"Good now that that's out of the way, Team 8 and 7, meet at the village gate around seven. I suggest taking the remainder of today to get prepared; this is probably going to be a very long journey. Okay?" Kurenai received several nods in response, "Good, dismissed. And Kakashi, if you are even an hour late, I will personally hunt you down and castrate you with a dull, blunted kunai, got it?" Kurenai threatened, causing the other to flinch back in slight fear.

"Yes, got it."

"Good, see you tomorrow then."

* * *

_The next day (Village Gates)…_

The members of Team 7 and 8 stood waiting for their respective sensei's to show up. In the mean time they had decided to get to know each other slightly, at least bothering to get names done and over with. Tazuna stood off a bit a way to the side, apparently trying not to draw too much attention to himself as he took occasional swigs from the bottle of alcohol he had commandeered from some local pub.

"Good looks like everybody's here." Kurenai said as she and Kakashi shunshinned into view. "Now are you sure that you're all ready?" a unison of nods in the confirmative.

"Good, now let's get going, the sooner we leave the better." Kakashi said and they all left through the gate.

_On the road outside of Konoha…_

Team 8 and 7 walked down the dirt road, talking occasionally with each other as a few of them tried to hide their excitement at being outside of the village boundaries for the first time.

"Everyone stay alert. We have no idea what could be out here." Kurenai warned as she watched her students, her serious expression hiding one of slight amusement though.

"Don't worry Kurenai-sensei, we'll be careful." Nari responded back with a cheerful smile, resulting in Kurenai sighing in exasperation.

"Of course you will Nari." She stuck her tongue out playfully when the genjutsu user said that, causing the woman to chuckle slightly in amusement. They continued to walk on for a bit, seemingly everybody but Nari going by without taking notice of the rather unusually placed puddle. In truth the two jonin had seen it, but had not wanted to mention it in order to see if their students would pick it up.

"Nari, why'd you stop?" Sakura called back as the whole group paused to look at the girl who now stood stock still, staring at the water puddle as if she were hypnotized or something. "Nari!" finally she blinked, looking about in shock for a bit before shaking her head and running to catch up to the group.

"Seriously, what the heck were you think-What the-"

"Nari, watch out!" Nari blinked in shock, freezing when she sensed the aura of the bladed chains that were about to wrap around her. She only had a split second to think, and even lesser time to act as the two attacking ninja began to tighten the chains, unable to defend herself she could only shut her eyes tightly. But the pain that she was expecting never came. Instead, she head the sharp clashing of metal against metal. Blinking her eyes open slowly she looked to see the Uchiha Sasuke standing in front of her protectively. She took the time to search for the others, and saw them standing in shock as they stared wide eyed at the sight of two fully grown ninja being sat on by their jonin instructors, looking very pathetic at that.

"Tazuna, we need to talk. Your little lie nearly got one of my genin killed." Kurenai said in a foreboding tone of voice.

"Of course, I understand." The drunk man, though apparently not as much as they thought answered.

* * *

**A/N. I'm skipping Tazuna's explanation of why he lied, I just don't see the point in it. Sorry!**

* * *

_Sometime later…_

The large party found themselves in a small ship, being rowed across the river by the driver in utter silence. Apparently a very dangerous man was after Tazuna's head, in order to keep his iron grip control over the Land of Wave's economy. Just helping the old bridge builder was likely to warrant in a person's death, so the boat man was putting a lot on the line at the moment, and Nari and the others had to give him respect for having the courage to do such a thing.

"We're getting close, you can see the bridge from here. Everyone please stay as silent as you possibly can, I can't promise anybody's safety if we get caught out here." The boat driver warned, it was even more effective with the fact that he was whispering.

They didn't have to stay completely silent for long though as the shoreline finally came into view. The man landed the boat in the shelter under the cover of some mangroves, and everybody gently got off.

"I'm sorry I couldn't take you farther in Tazuna-san." The boat driver apologized quietly as he prepared to leave,

"Of course, be safe on your journey home, and thank you so much." The old man said, bowing slightly in gratitude as he and the others turned to continue their journey to Tazuna's house.

* * *

_Somewhere unknown…_

A midget sized pudgy man stood in the door way, two bandits standing behind him as he glared at the overtly large man sitting leisurely on the couch,

"Demon of the Mist my butt." The pudgy man snarled out, "I hired you because you said you were the best, guaranteed to kill that blasted bridge builder before he could complete the bridge. You send your Demon Brothers, and low and behold he's still alive! I'm not paying you for some half-butted job-" he was cut off as the man on the couch suddenly drew an overtly large sword, stopping only seconds short before it could chop off the short man's head.

"Don't worry that greedy little head of yours. I'll be going personally this time around. I'll serve that bridge builder's head to you on a platter. Just wait." The man grimaced.

"You better, Zabuza."

"Don't worry, I'll show them what a true demon is." The bulky gave a nasty smile, visible even under the mountain of bandages he had wrapped around the lower part of his face. He gave a mad chuckle as he thought of all the blood he'd be able to spill. Oh yes, he would definitely be showing them what a demon really was.

* * *

A/N. Sorry, I wanted to make it longer, but I just couldn't. I'm sorry. But anyways, please review, I hoped you like the chapter and thanks again for reading! See ya!

Note: This chapter will probably be revised later, maybe, maybe not, I'm not sure yet.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N. Here's the 8th chapter. Enjoy!

To Ferdawg: Thanks and sorry about that, honestly I wanted to do a big fight seen, but then I decided it would be better to not reveal Nari's dojutsu just yet, that and it gave me the chance to introduce the potential of a love triangle between Sasuke and Shino with poor naïve Nari in the center of it all, it won't truly show it's colors until the Chunin Exams though, or at least that's what I'm hoping will happen anyways. Thanks again for the review and hope you enjoy the chapter!

To IndigoButterfly: Thanks, and mind you that I have no idea what that really means, though it probably hurts a lot if you're a guy from the reactions I've seen. And yes, it does get the desired results it seems. I'm glad you find this amusing and hope you enjoy this chapter as well, thanks again for reviewing!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!**

* * *

**Episode 7: The Demon of the Bloody Mist!**

* * *

After the attack from the Demon Brothers, Nari had, thanks to a determination born in order to prove that she wasn't going to bring the team down any more, taken the lead.

"You know you don't have to pretend to be brave dobe, just stay in the back like Hinata and let the big boys handle this." Sasuke said snidely, motioning with his head to where Hinata had been walking alongside their client, Tazuna. Nari growled in response as she suddenly turned on the Uchiha,

"SHUT UP TEME!" she yelled in his face, causing the whole group to freeze as they watched the two bicker.

"Looks like it was indeed a good idea to put those two on different teams after all. They're going at it like cats and dogs." Kakashi commented as he watched, the two genin yell at each other, or really Nari yell at Sasuke while Sasuke just grunted or gave one worded sentences.

"Yes, can you imagine having to deal with this almost every single day?" Kurenai answered back, heaving a sigh as she prepared to get the two to stop.

"I'd rather not."

"Ok you two break it-"_-FROOORSH-BOOM-_"-NARI!" Kurenai wound up hollering in surprise as she watched said kunoichi fling an orb of concentrated aura and chakra into the foliage running alongside the road they were taking, felling a tree and scaring the members of Team 7 and the client in the process. "What it the world are you doing?" Kakashi had one eyebrow quirked to show he was also curious about the girl's actions. Nari, instead of responding, narrowed her eyes and walked into the brush, coming out five seconds later holding a rabbit the ears in her hand. The rabbit was pure white and trembling in fear from nearly getting killed by the young kunoichi's attack.

"Um…Kakashi-sensei, isn't that a snow hare?" Kiba suddenly asked, eying the rabbit curiously. Hinata took a closer look before nodding her head in agreement,

"A-Ano, Kurenai-sensei, K-Kiba-kun is right. That's a snow hare." Hinata said giving her teacher a concerned look, "B-But it's s-summer, s-shouldn't it's fur be brown right now?" Hinata asked as she turned her gaze to her sensei. Kurenai was silent, expression contemplative as she eyed the rabbit suspiciously. Suddenly both jonin's eyes widened in realization,

"Kurenai-sensei?"

"Everybody take cover now!" They all dove to the side, just seconds before as a large blade suddenly came whizzing through the air in their direction, before imbedding itself in the bark of a nearby tree. They all managed to eventually pick themselves off the ground, but not before a tall, well-muscled man wearing no shirt, grey pants, and winter camouflage leg and arm warmers landed on the hilt of the blade, leering at them as bloodlust rolled off of him in waves. Kurenai dropped into a defensive stance almost immediately at the sight of the man, kunai drawn and other hand poised and ready to cast a genjutsu over the genin and client in necessary. Kakashi stood, seemingly relaxed as he tucked his little orange book into a pocket in his flak jacket, seeming to appraise their new enemy before he finally spoke up,

"Well, well...Look what we have here, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, the kid who ran with his tail between his legs from the Land of Mists!" Kakashi said, nonchalantly shoving his hands into his pants pockets, shifting slightly from one foot to another. Nari was about to throw yet another ball of aura, but Kurenai stopped her, grabbing ahold of her wrist to keep her from attacking,

"Nari stop. That's not someone you can take on at your current level. The Demon Brothers were one thing, that man is a completely different story. Go stand by the others and wait for your orders." The jonin ordered, motioning with her head to the other genin, who all stood in front of Tazuna. Nari was about to object, fell silent when Shino came up and grabbed hold of her other wrist, gently pulling her alongside him. Kurenai gave a silent nod in thanks, letting go of a now pouting Nari so Shino could take her back to the other genin.

"Ah, how cute." The man spoke, tone malicious as he slowly bent over and took ahold of the blade he was standing on, "Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye, I presume? If it wouldn't be too much of a bother, could you hand over the old man?" he asked. In response Kakashi reached for his headband,

"Team 7 and 8, assume the Manji Formation! Protect Tazuna!" Kakashi ordered as he slowly began to pull up the side of his hitai-ate that was covering his left eye.

"Kurenai-sensei!"

"All of you stay out of the fight, do as Kakashi says and protect Tazuna!" the woman ordered the members of Team 8, tone warning as she crouched ever lower to the ground then she had before. "This fight is going to get very rough."

"Now…Shall we?" Kakashi said, left eye revealed finally, shocking several members. His left eye was a vivid red with a thin black circle around the pupil and three tomoe.

"Ah, to face the legendary Sharingan Eye so early in our acquaintance, I'm honored…" the man, Zabuza, said, voice mocking as he continued to leer contemptuously at the small group.

"What the heck is Sharingan?" Nari suddenly interjected loudly, resulting in Kurenai glaring slightly at her student in disbelief.

"Shinobi who have the Sharingan eye..." Sasuke explained before anyone could actually reprimand the girl, "…have mastered a form of ocular ninjutsu that enables them to penetrate and see the reality behind any illusion or spell and send that power back at the one who cast it. It is one of several types used by the masters…And there's more." Sasuke finished.

"Like what?" Nari asked, turning to face the Uchiha heir,

"Heh heh…Yes, there is indeed more. Most incredible about the Sharingan eye is its ability to discern and then duplicate it's opponent's greatest skills." The enemy ninja chuckled out, "When I was an assassin for Kirigakure, I possessed the usual bingo book, a who's who of our enemies. It possessed quite the entry on you Kakashi, along with you female companion. Kakashi Hatake, the man known to have penetrated and copied over a thousand jutsus. And then of course there is the kunoichi with the red eyes, Kurenai Yuhi, the Queen of Mirages. At the mere rank genin, you had already become quite well known for your prowess in the area of genjutsu, which supposedly matched even those of the Uchiha Clan." He finished eying both jonin like a pack of meat. All six of the genin gaped at the two jonin in complete and total awe.

"Now enough! As pleasant as this conversation has been, I'm on a rather tight schedule to polish off the old man. Time is money after all, and the more we waste talking, the less likely I am to get paid!" he stated, yanking the large blade from the tree finally and disappearing from view. All six genin immediately went on high alert, surrounding the old man on both sides. Nari, still facing the direction in which Zabuza had been suddenly yelled out without turning around,

"Kurenai-sensei, Kakashi-sensei! He's on the river!" Both turned to see that Nari had in fact been right. Zabuza said nothing, expression contemplative though as he encompassed the whole area in a thick mist. Kakashi glared as he watched man wearily, _'Clever…He's built up a fairly large concentration of chakra, this must be…'_

"The finest of the ninja arts…the Kirigakure no Jutsu." Zabuza said as he disappeared into the veil of mist.

"Everybody be on high alert! Zabuza Momochi is a master of the art of the silent killing, letting your guard down will buy a quick trip to heaven around him!" Kurenai yelled out in warning as she raised her kunai so that it was level with her face.

"_**There are eight targets; throat, spinal column, lungs, liver, the JUGULAR vein, the subclavian artery, kidney, HEART…Hehehehe…So many choices, what vital, vulnerable place shall I choose?" **_the rogue ninja's voice could suddenly be heard, seeming to come from everywhere at once. Sasuke himself began to tremble as both jonin began to dish out killing intent as well, he seemed about ready to kill himself when Kakashi spoke up,

"Sasuke, calm down. Even if he does wind up getting the both of us, we'll continue to protect you guys. Neither Kurenai nor I will let our comrades die." The jonin said reassuringly, causing Sasuke to relax slightly,

"**I wouldn't bet on that." **Suddenly Zabuza appeared right in front of Tazuna, blade reading to slice all of them all in half. Nari suddenly struck out, turning around in seconds with an aura infused fist, only to be caught by the man and dangled into the air.

"AH!"

"Nari!"

"Nice try kid." Zabuza said before throwing her aside and into the surrounding brush, pulling his blade in front of his body as Kurenai tried to stab the man with her kunai. "I must admit, that child is very strange. She's able to tell where I am without having to turn around…I wonder, could it be that there are still members of that clan running about. She doesn't look like one of them though…" He didn't get to finish verbalizing his thoughts however, as Kakashi also made to attack.

"Hinata, quickly go find Nari!" Kurenai ordered as she joined in the fight between the rogue ninja and Kakashi.

"H-Hai!" Hinata darted off into the brush as well, but froze just before she could fully step in, the sound of two people landing in water making her pause. She slowly turned around, only for her eyes to widen at the sight. Both Kakashi and Kurenai were in the river, with Zabuza looming over them both. The enemy ninja ran through several hand signs before sticking his hand in the water, before bring it back, hand encompassed in a sphere of water with both jonin inside as well.

"Suirō no Jutsu." The man said as everyone took on looks of pure horror. "Hehe, this jutsu creates inescapable prison out of water, the only downside being that I have to keep one arm inside of it at all times. But rest assured, my mizu-bunshin should be more than enough to take care of you brats." The man said, sneering at the remaining rookie ninja as he summoned two water doppelgangers.

"Blast it all! All of you, take Tazuna, find Nari, and run!" Kurenai ordered from her place inside the prison.

"But Kurenai-sensei!"

"No buts! Don't be fools, this man is way out of your leagues. Go! We'll be fine!" they all seemed to hesitate, until Hinata suddenly screamed out, ducking low to the ground as several orbs of energy came flying out from the foliage behind her. Hinata slowly backed up as Nari came out, hands glowing with pure aura and chakra fused together, eyes glowing in a strange, purplish color. Slowly and gradually, her hair began to turn an angry, burning red color, almost taking on the appearance of fire itself. Zabuza began to chuckle in amusement at the sight of the transformed genin, expression one of excitement.

"So there was one of them still running around. Oh well, this just makes things all the more exciting." The man chuckled out before sending his bunshin to attack the genin. They didn't get far however as Nari punched the ground, splitting it right underneath one of the bunshin's feet and causing both to back off, suddenly weary of the child's almost inhuman strength. Kurenai worried her bottom lip, concern etched on her face as she watched Nari confront the bunshin on her own.

"Strong as Nari seems to have suddenly gotten, there's no way they can all take on Zabuza!" Kakashi looked just as worried, if not more, "Nari stop! Go with the others! Take Tazuna and run! Protecting the client is more important than winning a stupid fist fight!"

"Nari, Kurenai-sensei is right! We need to go, c'mon!" Kiba said, hoping to convince the angered Uzumaki to listen for once and leave the battlefield.

"NO! Kiba, do you plan to run away from every difficult battle that you face for the rest of your life! Mission be cursed to the seventh layer of hell! You may be willing to, but I'm not! I refuse, absolutely refuse to abandon Kurenai-sensei! Not if I can help it!" Nari said turning on the Inazuka heir as she drew a kunai from the pouch on her thigh and threw into the ground, imbedding it almost up to the hilt. "I will take him on alone if I have to, but I'm not abandoning any member of this team! Those who disregard the mission may be trash, but if you abandon your teammate, you are lower than scum!" at that point Nari spit at the ground, further proving her point of view on the matter. Kiba and the others all looked at each other uncertain for a few seconds, before turning to Tazuna,

"What? Why are you all looking at me? I've lived a good long life, if I die here, well that's my fault, but I'm not going to have you all be burdened because I lied about something. So go ahead and save your senseis!" the old man said with a grin. Kurenai groaned, heaving a sigh of exasperation as her expression took on a look of morbid acceptance. She may have emphasize the point of team work a little too much, to have both her and Kakashi's word thrown back at them like that was a huge slap in the face. She was a fool to think that Nari would so easily abandoned them in order to save her own skin. She wasn't so low a person to do such a thing. Kakashi couldn't help but give a dry chuckle,

"You taught her well Kurenai, better then I could've hoped for concerning the concept of team work."

"Yes well, I may have taught her too well. It means nothing if she gets herself killed!" Kurenai said, an urgent tone to her voice.

"But Kurenai, which is better, to die knowing that you tried your best to protect those you hold close, or to die not doing anything at all?" Kurenai didn't answer Kakashi's question, resigning herself to the fact that there was really nothing she could do about it now, she'd reprimand Nari later for insubordination, just to get it across that that was not something the girl should make a habit of. For now, all she could do was pray that they didn't get themselves killed in this new bout of idiocy.

All six genin got ready for battle, falling into their respective family taijutsus if they had any at all. Sasuke and Shino both stepped forward to stand beside Nari, who now had the air thrumming with energy as she began to emit aura from her body.

"Hinata-san, Sakura-san, stand back and protect Tazuna. Kiba and I shall neutralize the clones, Nari and Sasuke, getting our teachers free is your job!"

"Yeah, yeah, quite ordering us around!" Kiba said getting onto all fours as his nin-dog Akamura jumped off his head and onto the ground, hackles raised and growling. Both Hinata and Sakura immediately took their positions in front of the client, while the other four steeled themselves for battle.

"How about a little smoke and mirrors!" Nari called out, a broad grin on her face as she slammed her fist again, cracking splitting the ground and kicking up dirt, dust, and debris, providing a decent cover for the four attacking ninja. Sasuke, Shino, and Kiba quickly flashed through hand signs and then leapt through the smoke, going on the offensive quickly as they launched themselves at their opponents. The smoke eventually cleared, revealing that Nari had disappeared.

"Sasuke now!" Kiba said once he had one of the doppelgangers in a grappling match with the help of his partner. The Uchiha nodded, leaping onto his back and then the bunshin's shoulder, using both as leverage to get himself high into the air. He drew a giant shuriken, flinging it quickly while calling out its name,

"Demon Wind Shuriken…Windmill of Shadows!" it sped toward Zabuza only to be caught by the man's free hand. Thinking he was safe, he mocked the genin until he was taken by surprise when another one revealed itself from underneath the first. Sakura cheered thinking they had beat him, but Zabuza leapt over that one as well, causing it to miss to. The giant shuriken kept flying until it unexpectedly popped, revealing itself to be a transformed Nari, hands already in a familiar cross,

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" she called out as four shadow clones poofed into existence. All five of the Nari's fists began to glow with aura, and they launched the concentrated orbs at the man. Zabuza seeing no other way to dodge released his jutsu and dove out of the way, barely evading the barrage of energy spheres. Zabuza growled in anger as he prepared to kill the little pest for getting in his way and making him drop his jutsu. He was blocked however by a now freed Kakashi. Kurenai knelt on the ground sopping wet, but free as well, glaring daggers at the man who had threatened her students.

"That's enough all of you. Great job, you've all grown very much. Leave the rest to us." Both Kurenai and Kakashi rejoined the fight, while Nari swam to the safety of the shoreline and away from the most of the fighting, exhausted and worn out from all the energy she had expended.

"Good job…Nari." Shino said as he helped her out of the water. Sasuke joining him,

"Yeah, you did pretty good, for a dobe." Nari growled at the insult, but let it slide, too tired to do anything at the moment.

"Oh shut up…" she managed, before collapsing on the ground finally. Sasuke snorted in response, watching with a strange gleam in his eye as Shino helped Nari stand, allowing her to lean on him while they observed the battle going on between their jonin instructors and the rogue ninja.

* * *

**(A/N. The rest of the battle is canon, only with Kurenai helping. Sorry but honestly I doubt it could get any more different then it is now, so I'm skipping this part, and jumping straight to just as Haku appears.)**

* * *

Shino stood, observing with slight shock as a boy, no older than most of them save for maybe Nari herself, took down Zabuza all on his own with just a couple of senbon needles. Nari probably would have commented about it, that is if she were currently conscious to do such a thing. At some point her body had finally had enough and passed out on him, forcing him to have to carry her in what most would describe as a princess carry. The boy himself was apparently a hunter nin from Zabuza's home village, having been tracking him down for some time. Shino wasn't sure if he completely believed him or not though. Sasuke didn't want to accept it easily but was stopped by his sensei before he caused something they'd all wind up regretting.

"Sasuke, it's fine, there will be ninja out there who might even by younger then you yet stronger than me, just take it with a grain of sugar." Said jonin said in a warning tone.

"I thank you again for your assistance, but I must make my leave now so that I can dispose of Zabuza's body." The newcomer said, lifting up Zabuza's body onto his shoulder and disappearing as he shunshinned away. Kakashi sighed as he and Kurenai turned to their students and the client who had until now been for the most part silent. Kurenai herself walked up to Shino, kneeling down to check on the still unconscious Nari, face scrunched in controlled concern. Their attention was drawn towards Tazuna for a bit before anyone could voice their concern as he laughed, scratching the back of his head as he spoke up,

"You all must feel humiliated! Don't worry though, you can all lick your wounds at my place. It's not that far from here!" he said tilting the straw hat on his head.

"Yes thank you Tazuna-san. I'm especially worried about Nari here." Kurenai said in gratitude as she placed her hand on the girl's head, getting small noise in response but no others signs that she might wake up. Sighing the jonin stood up, only to jump slightly in surprise when she heard somebody hit the ground. Turning around she heaved yet another sigh at the sight before her, "Looks like you overdid it huh Kakashi? Well c'mon, let's get going so the both of you can get some rest." Kurenai said as she took ahold of Kakashi's arm and flung it over her shoulder to help the man walk. Kakashi just nodded in thanks as they set off. His mind was elsewhere, more concerned with the sudden physical changes that one Nari Uzumaki had just gone through in the middle of that battle, and something else. Something that didn't feel quite right about Zabuza and that hunter nin.

* * *

A/N. Ok, thanks for reading and I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Remember to review and see ya!


End file.
